Can 'Wi-Fi trolls' access your home's internet router?

A “Wi-Fi troll” is a person or persons who park outside of a home for brief periods at a time—typically an hour or two—with a device that enables them to break into the owner’s router, allowing them to intercept any and all web traffic and ultimately giving them access to personal data, such as banking and identity information.

While this may seem like something that is unlikely to happen, it is more common than one may think. It has even happened on Daniel Island.

Jack Mossett, an IT specialist for Bravas Worldwide, a digital content agency that operates on the island, has actually encountered these Wi-Fi trolls attempting to break into a client’s router.

“I’ve heard about this kind of stuff before in neighborhoods and I’ve heard stories, but I had never actually encountered it firsthand until now,” said Mossett. “…We have a lot of enterprise level cloud security stuff that runs on the network here, so it caught them trying to get in and recorded their devices and as much of their information as it could get. It then stopped them and blocked them and sent me an alert. I was on to them pretty quickly and then I notified the police that those people were in the area.”

Although a serious issue, it can be difficult to detect for the average person, Mossett continued. Because of this, these “trolls” tend to target homeowners.

“It’s a little complicated,” said Mossett. “I don’t even do it myself. I use a different assortment of cloud security. Basically, you can think of it like antivirus or cyberware protection. It runs over the internet for me. We don’t have the space here at the moment to host a bunch of big servers. That’s generally why these people would never target businesses because they know they tend to have more secure measures in place.”

So if it is complicated to detect, how can one protect themselves from having their Wi-Fi “trolled?” One way is to change the Wi-Fi password every couple of months, added Mossett. There is also an option to use a WPA password that adds an additional 12 characters.

“Some people don’t even have passwords,” said Mossett. “It can be pretty easy. A lot of times, they can guess or they can just decrypt the Wi-Fi password. A lot of people don’t use the most encrypted or long password options available.”

On a larger scale, cyber intrusions have become a much more serious threat to not only citizens and businesses, but the security of the entire nation, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) website.

“Cyber intrusions are becoming more commonplace, more dangerous, and more sophisticated,” stated the website. “Our nation’s critical infrastructure, including both private and public sector networks, are targeted by adversaries. American companies are targeted for trade secrets and other sensitive corporate data, and universities for their cutting-edge research and development. Citizens are targeted by fraudsters and identity thieves, and children are targeted by online predators.”

In order to combat this, the FBI has actively worked to enhance their Cyber Division’s focus on intrusions into government and private computer networks, the website continued.

“In recent years, we’ve built a whole new set of technological and investigative capabilities and partnerships—so we’re as comfortable chasing outlaws in cyberspace as we are down back alleys and across continents,” reported the website.

To allow for a place for affected citizens to report such crimes, the FBI also created the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). According to the FBI’s website, the mission of the center is “to provide the public with a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to submit information to the FBI concerning suspected internet-facilitated fraud schemes and to develop effective alliances with law enforcement and industry partners.” The center can be accessed at www.ic3.gov.

For more information about protecting your computer from cyber intrusion, visit www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER:

Below are some key steps to protecting your computer from intrusion, according to the FBI:

Keep your firewall turned on: A firewall helps protect your computer from hackers who might try to gain access to crash it, delete information, or even steal passwords or other sensitive information. Software firewalls are widely recommended for single computers. The software is prepackaged on some operating systems or can be purchased for individual computers. For multiple networked computers, hardware routers typically provide firewall protection.

Install or update your antivirus software: Antivirus software is designed to prevent malicious software programs from embedding on your computer. If it detects a malicious code, like a virus or a worm, it works to disarm or remove it. Viruses can infect computers without users’ knowledge. Most types of antivirus software can be set up to update automatically.

Install or update your antispyware technology: Spyware is just what it sounds like—software that is surreptitiously installed on your computer to let others peer into your activities on the computer. Some spyware collects information about you without your consent or produces unwanted pop-up ads on your web browser. Some operating systems offer free spyware protection, and inexpensive software is readily available for download on the Internet or at your local computer store. Be wary of ads on the Internet offering downloadable antispyware—in some cases these products may be fake and may actually contain spyware or other malicious code. It’s like buying groceries—shop where you trust.

Keep your operating system up to date: Computer operating systems are periodically updated to stay in tune with technology requirements and to fix security holes.

Be sure to install the updates to ensure your computer has the latest protection. Be careful what you download: Carelessly downloading e-mail attachments can circumvent even the most vigilant anti-virus software. Never open an e-mail attachment from someone you don’t know and be wary of forwarded attachments from people you do know. They may have unwittingly advanced malicious code.

Turn off your computer: With the growth of high-speed Internet connections, many opt to leave their computers on and ready for action. The downside is that being “always on” renders computers more susceptible. Beyond firewall protection, which is designed to fend off unwanted attacks, turning the computer off effectively severs an attacker’s connection—be it spyware or a botnet that employs your computer’s resources to reach out to other unwitting users. Source: www.fbi.gov.